A Wild Rose
by Elizabeth Keyes
Summary: When Harry finds out some hidden information about his family life, he goes on a search to tie the loose ends. Will his new discovery fill in the gaps of his parents' mysterious lives?
1. Celebrity

**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.**

It had been three months since it all happened. My life had completely changed, and for the better. I used to be the guy that everyone either loved to hate or just plain loved. Everywhere I went people would fawn over me, wanting to ask me how it felt knowing that the fate of the world rested with me. I had known for two years that it all came down to two people: Tom Riddle and _me_. Was I scared? Oh yes. There was more fear in me than most people would ever know in their entire lifetime. But there was nothing I could do about it. Fate had chosen me to either bring destruction or redemption upon the world. It had been three months since it all ended when another part of my life started. There was a new quest ahead of me. I was on a journey to find someone. Whether or not she was still alive, I did not know. But curiosity and love got the best of me, and I began the search.

After defeating Lord Voldemort in the final battle, things had really shaken up. People I had never known would write me letters and tell me how well they knew my parents before they died. They would tell me that I had met them when they were still alive, but I would not remember them. Of course, most of this was not true. Everyone wanted to meet the famous Harry Potter, defeater of the Dark Lord. I used to be ashamed of the name, but now things were different. I wasn't famous anymore for merely being born. I was famous for an accomplishment that I had worked for and earned.

All I wanted to do now that I had graduated Hogwarts was to settle down, get a job, and have a family of my own. I was tired. I had been through so much _life _that most people didn't have to handle in their entire lifetime. But that thought was behind me. The only thing in my future could be happiness, after what I'd been through. I was ready to start a new life. I already had a job as an Auror with the Ministry of Magic. It didn't take much for them to hire me, after defeating Voldemort. Things were going to be great. My new life was about ready to begin, and I was at peace with myself and the world.

Until that letter came.

One day I received a letter from Dumbledore, the headmaster at Hogwarts. He had taught me everything I ever need to know and trained me to defeat Voldemort. I owed this man everything. His letter came to me by means of a brown barn owl that I figured must have come from the Hogwarts Owlery. I was not surprised to see the owl fly through the kitchen window of my flat that afternoon. I got several owls daily, so I didn't expect anything out of the ordinary as I opened the envelope in which the letter resided.

"Dear Harry,

I am on a tight schedule, so I must make this brief. This is somewhat urgent, and I would really appreciate it if you could come to my office at Hogwarts Monday at noon. I have something that belongs to you. It requires some personal explaining, and I would like to talk to you as well. I hope you can make it. Please send word back to me stating whether or not that is a good time for you. If not, we may have to reschedule.

Albus Dumbledore"

And that was all it said. I wondered for a few moments about what he would be giving me, but I quickly just shrugged it off. I knew Dumbledore very well. If something had gone drastically wrong, he would have apparated to me to give me whatever it was. It couldn't be too urgent, because he asked for my presence on Monday while it was only Thursday. I sighed, tucking the matter into the back part of my mind, along with all the other appointments and interviews I had the following week. I then heard a voice coming from the great room that called my name.

"Harry!" It called to me. I hurried into the room to see my best friend's head poking through the fireplace.

"Ron!" I exclaimed, smiling from ear to ear. "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm fine. I just thought I'd check on you and see how you're doing."

This was odd. Ron wasn't the type to just "check" on people, especially not someone who had just defeated the greatest known dark power in the world. Something else had to be on his mind.

"Well," I said, wondering where this was going, "I was just about to put a chicken in the oven."

"Oh, chicken!" Ron said as his face lit up. "I haven't had a home-made meal in _ages_!"

It was true. Ron had moved out of the Weasley nest, and if there had been one trait he did not get from his mother, it was her cooking ability. The last time Ron tried to cook, he caught the stove on fire and completely torched his pasta. He would now either eat out every night or get a meal from a friend. I sighed as I realized that tonight I would be cooking for him.

"Would you like to come over in a few minutes and have some?" I asked. Of course Iloved havingRon over.I missed the big meals with hundreds of people around at Hogwarts, soI loved to havemy friends over and cook for them, but sometimesI wondered about Ron and his dependency on others.

"Oh, thanks Harry!" Ron said as though he wasn't expecting an invitation at all. "I'll just go invite Hermione as well."

"Sure," I said. "In fact, why don't you invite Ginny and that boyfriend of hers. I'd love to meet him. She speaks so highly of him."

Ginny and I had become fast friends in my sixth year at Hogwarts. She was a year below me, and so she would be going back to school in a month, and I would miss having her over for the occasional dinner. But I was sure that I would see her over the holiday breaks. She was now involved with someone who was in her year at Hogwarts, but she said I never knew him. I couldn't even think of his name at the time.

"Haven't you heard, Harry?" Ron asked me, with a strange look on his face that I could not quite read. "He broke it off with her. My guess is that something better came along."

"Oh, that's harsh," I said. "Well, could you invite her anyway? She's going back in less than a month, and we all won't get to see her for a while."

"Yeah, sure," Ron said as if it were nothing. There was a silence for a moment until Ron said, "Harry…you don't _fancy _my sister, do you?"

"What?" I exclaimed. I was good friends with Ginny. She was like a sister to me. "No, Ron. Just…no. That would be like dating my sister."

"Ew," Ron said, making a face. "Whatever you say, Harry. I'll invite her, but I don't believe you. Bye!"

And with that, Ron was gone. Leave it to Ron to not even give me time to defend myself. I decided that since I was having dinner guests, I should probably get started with dinner. I headed into the kitchen and began to roast the chicken.

At about six-thirty, the doorbell rang. I left the oven and walked to the foyer, whereI opened the door to greet his friends.

"Ron! Ginny!"I said, welcoming them inside. "I'm so glad you could make it."

"Of course we could make it, Harry," Ron said. "I already told you I'd be here earlier."

"Ron, be polite," Ginny said, shooting a glare toward him. "So is Hermione coming?"

That question was answered by another ring of the doorbell. I opened the door again to find a beaming Hermione.

"Harry!" Hermione squealed, embracing me in a deadly hug.

"It's good to see you too, Hermione," I said, confused. I had only seen her a few days earlier. I sent a puzzled look to Ron, and he just shrugged.

"Um, Hermione?" Ginny asked. "What's up?"

Hermione loosened her grip on me and said, "Sorry, Harry. I couldn't help myself. I just heard the good news."

"Good news?" I asked, still very confused.

"It was all over Diagon Alley this morning. They printed a column in the Daily Prophet , too."

"What in the bloody hell are you talking about, Hermione?" Ron asked.

"Harry's baby!" She exclaimed, about ready to bust.

"My _what_!"I shouted. There was no way possible that _I _could be having a baby. I wasn't even involved with anyone, and I hadn't been since Hogwarts.

"Oh please, she hasn't told you yet?" Hermione asked, a huge smile plastered to her face.

"Harry's pregnant?" Ron asked, bewildered. His eyes were about to pop out of his head from shock, and his face was bright red.

"Ron, do you understand what it takes to get pregnant?" Ginny asked in a joking manner. "Harry's not exactly what one would call a-"

"That isn't what I meant, Ginny," Ron said, rolling his eyes.

"No, there's no way I could…I mean, I haven't," I started rambling. I could feel all eyes in the room on me. Sweat began to form at my hairline. "I've been, well…"

"Harry, come on, you can tell us," Hermione said. "It's all over the news anyway. Everybody knows. I didn't even know you were seeing anyone, but I guess you wanted to keep your love life secret from the media, which I can understand. But if it was getting serious, why didn't you tell us. Or was it…a one-nighter?"

"I'M NOT HAVING A BABY!" I shouted. There was no way in hell that this was at all possible. Where was Hermione getting this information? I needed to talk to this girl, and I needed to do it very quickly.

There was a loud beeping noise from the kitchen. The chicken needed to be taken out of the oven. I showed my guests to the dining room and told them to have a seat as I made my way to the kitchen to get the chicken out. I brought the food one by one into the dining room and told everyone to eat up and that there was plenty. I hated leftovers.

"Okay, now that I've had time to cool down," I started, wanting to clear up this baby thing, "where did you hear that I'm going to be a father?"

"So it's true!" Ron exclaimed, wanting the details. "Harry, you should've told me! How was your first-"

"_Ron_!" Hermione, Ginny, and I shouted.

"Anyway," Hermione began, "I went to Diagon Alley today and I heard a few witches talking about Harry Potter's baby. I thought there was no way possible that this was true, and it was just a silly rumor. Well, then I kept hearing it throughout the day, and then when I came home I started to read the _Daily Prophet_. Right on the front page there was an article about it!"

"Who is the mother?" Ginny asked.

"You know Ashley Waters? She's all over the media these days," Hermione replied.

"Appleby Arrows' chaser?" Ron asked.

"Well, she's pregnant, and she says the baby belongs to you, Harry," Hermione said.

"That's impossible!" I shouted. "I've met her maybe once! And that was only for about five minutes when I went to the Appleby game and they called me back to meet the players for publicity."

"Well, she's pregnant," Hermione said.

"But I never touched her," I said. I knew there was no way I could undo this.

"Well, there's not much you can do, Harry," Ginny said. "Once the _Daily Prophet_ has an article about you…"

"You're screwed," Ron said, laughing.

"It isn't funny, Ron," I said. "_Great_."

"Oh no," Ginny said. "I think I know what that girl's doing. She's out for your fame and money, Harry. She knows that if you don't help her take care of the baby and act as its father, your reputation will be ruined. So now you're being cornered into marrying her."

"That isn't fair!" I said. I couldn't just marry this girl and play father to her son. I didn't know her. I didn't know anything about her. What kind of sick person would do something like this?

"Welcome to the world of being a celebrity," Hermione said.

**Author's Note**: And there's the first chapter. Please review. I'll love you forever if you do!


	2. The Plan

The following morning I awoke to a number of owls in my bed room. I opened the first letter, and immediately realized that the rest would be the same. Each one was asking for an exclusive interview with me about this baby. I wanted nothing to do with it. Sure, I wanted a family, but I wanted to have my own baby, not the baby of Ashley and some random guy she had blown off. After getting all of the owls out of my room, I went to the kitchen to get something to eat for breakfast. Half-way through my pancakes, I heard the phone ring. I got up from the table to answer it.

"Hello?" I spoke into the receiver.

"Harry, it's Hermione," I heard her voice speak. "About this ordeal with Ashley Waters-"

"Yeah, about that," I interrupted. "I received about a dozen letters this morning from reporters asking for interviews about the baby. They all want a confirmation that it's actually mine."

"So are you going to do it?" Hermione asked.

"Of course not!" I exclaimed as though it was obvious. "I want nothing to do with this baby or its mother. How am I supposed to prove it isn't mine?"

"There are ways of performing tests, but we wouldn't be able to get her to agree to it. She says she's positive it's yours."

"What if we found the father?" I asked. I really wanted this whole issue to disappear.

"How are we supposed to do that?" Hermione asked me. "Again, we'd have to get Ashley to agree to a test, and if she's after your money and fame, that's not going to happen."

"Unless I didn't go through the media, but directly to her," I said. "I could invite her over for dinner, poison her food-"

"Harry, we don't want to kill her!" Hermione said. "Why don't we just slip a sleeping potion into her drink, and I'll run over and perform a test myself. I've read about them. It shouldn't be too hard. It's just a spell – nothing fancy."

"That sounds like it actually might work. Do you know if she owns a telephone?" I asked.

"Hold on, I'll look up her number," I heard her set down the phone. A few minutes later she came back and gave me the number and address for Ashley Waters.

"Thanks a bunch," I said. "I'll call you when she's out."

"Oh, Harry," Hermione said. "Don't forget to work your charm on her. She has to believe it."

I smiled to myself. "Good bye, Hermione." I hung up the phone and dialed the number I had recently received from Hermione. It rang three times before I heard her voice.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Ashley?" I asked.

"This is she. Who are you?" She asked in return. She apparently didn't recognize my voice.

"This is Harry," I said. I could hear her breathing pattern change. "I was wondering if you'd like to come over for dinner tonight."

"Oh, sure," She answered. _Wow, she's easy_, I thought.

"Alright, can you be here around seven? You do remember where I live, right?" I said.

"Of course," she answered. Did I just place a memory in her head? "I'll see you then. Bye."

"Bye," I said and hung up the phone. Tonight was going to be one interesting evening.

I spent the rest of the day planning what to say and how to go about it. I made the sleeping potion. It wasn't very strong – just enough so she would be out all night. I was so nervous about the evening that when it came to be 7:00, I realized I had completely forgotten to cook. I chuckled to myself, going to the kitchen. Occasions like this were exactly why I let Mr. Weasley tamper with my oven. He took my ordinary Muggle oven and put a charm on it to instantly prepare a meal. Just after setting my oven to make lasagna, the doorbell rang. Once in the foyer, I opened the door to see Ashley Waters, the evil witch. Literally.

"Ashley! How are you?" I asked wrapping my arms around her in a hug.

She let out a sigh. "Listen, we both know why I'm here. You're going to yell at me about how the baby's not yours, and-"

"The baby isn't mine?" I asked, faking a hurt look. This certainly took her by surprise. Her entire facial expression changed. She now was smiling like we had known each other for years.

"Of course it is!" She said. I saw her eyes lift to my forehead. A beeping sound came from the kitchen. My lasagna was done.

"Go ahead and have a seat in the dining room through there," I said, pointing to the next room. "I'll be in with the food in a moment."

I went into the kitchen, poured two glasses of wine, and put the potion in one. I brought the glasses into the dining room and set the glass with the potion in front of Ashley, and the other in front of my seat.

I was surprised that she didn't figure out that something was in her drink. I must have asked her how she was feeling ten times throughout the meal, and I kept looking over at her quite frequently to check if anything had happened yet.

"So anyway, he tells me that there's no way I can play another game in this condition," Ashley began. "I mean, I'm not far along. I don't even feel any different-"

Then her eyes shut and she fell to the ground. I smiled. Though it took a very long time, part one of the plan was complete. I quietly got up from my chair and made my way to calling Hermione. I told her that the plan was working and to be ready to perform the test.

Hermione apparated right over. "Where is she?" She asked.

I told her to go into the dining room. Hermione nodded and I followed her there.

"Harry, you can't see this," Hermione said.

"What?" I asked.

"Leave, now," Hermione said, shoving me out of the room. _Well, fine_, I thought, _I guess I don't deserve to see the outcome of the test of the woman who says she's pregnant with **my **baby. Why should I get to see it?_

So I sat in the great room for a little while until Hermione came back in the room with a piece of paper in her hand. The look on her face was priceless. She looked purely bewildered.

"Well? Did you find out who the father is?" I asked. I was suddenly very interested. I almost felt sorry for the man whose name was written on that piece of paper. Whoever he was, he didn't deserve to have his child taken away from him.

Hermione didn't say anything. She only handed me the paper. I took one look at it and my eyes widened.

**A/N: Sorry this chapter is shorter than the previous, but if I hadn't ended the chapter there, another good ending place wouldn't have come for a while.**


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